21st September 2021
Hello Everyone - we were joined last week by our New Jersey friends for a talk by Brian Northmore on his 10 year project of Dartmoor. Dartmoor is 954 sq km with a 625 sq km granite under crop (not sure that's the correct term - let me know if it isn’t!) formed 300 million years ago. Dartmoor has the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the UK (39 sq miles). Brian gave us an enthralling history of the moor which used to be well populated with thriving communities (the open air parliament functioned from 1494 -1809) Quite a thought! He shared a wealth of historical facts with us for example, about 1000BC Dartmoor cooled and the populations then moved to the edges - this was where industrial Dartmoor formed: the quarries which were formed in the early 1900’s (such as Foggintor Quarry) are still in use today. Gorgeous walks are guaranteed: cattle keep the landscape under control on Dartmoor otherwise it would be impassable for walkers.
Brian’s aim is always to attempt to show the essence of the landscape and he successfully achieved this through some truly excellent black and whites showing the ruins of quarrying cottages and fascinating stone rows. Wisens Wood with twisted trees is now for me a must to go to despite the midges! Dartmoor mists are quite famous and can come down very quickly but with weather misbehaving as it did Brian was able to reveal some stunning skies. He never sees a trip as a failure - and always gets something out of it. After concentrating on black and white (he showed some abstracty ice formations) it was ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) which took him back into colour - see his You Tube channel and the item called "Passing it on".
He shared information on lenses, equipment and his techniques - although he did stress that equipment is not the answer to getting a good image - the camera doesn’t make you more creative. This in itself is an inspirational thought. His compositions strive for visual balance to create a synergy between his own view and that of the landscape itself. His style is one of no style - another inspiring comment from him, as I have often struggled to understand my style. He believes that nothing can be over photographed (a term which is over used in itself) because each photographer brings not only their own perspective to the story but the conditions we each work in are unique. He encourages working for your OWN inspiration.
His final set of images showed Foggintor Quarry in many different lights of the morning sunrises. Venford Brook gave Brian the opportunity to work with his beloved waterfalls and near Shavercombe Falls he captured some very evocative light into fog.
Brian runs 1-1 and group workshops, and also leads Photography walks. He demonstrated his planning structure and how he approaches his shoots which included advising us to think about our own comfort!
This coming week we have the first competition results and from what Mike says there are some very strong images. I shall be letting people in again this week and look forward to seeing you all.
Hello Everyone - we were joined last week by our New Jersey friends for a talk by Brian Northmore on his 10 year project of Dartmoor. Dartmoor is 954 sq km with a 625 sq km granite under crop (not sure that's the correct term - let me know if it isn’t!) formed 300 million years ago. Dartmoor has the largest concentration of Bronze Age remains in the UK (39 sq miles). Brian gave us an enthralling history of the moor which used to be well populated with thriving communities (the open air parliament functioned from 1494 -1809) Quite a thought! He shared a wealth of historical facts with us for example, about 1000BC Dartmoor cooled and the populations then moved to the edges - this was where industrial Dartmoor formed: the quarries which were formed in the early 1900’s (such as Foggintor Quarry) are still in use today. Gorgeous walks are guaranteed: cattle keep the landscape under control on Dartmoor otherwise it would be impassable for walkers.
Brian’s aim is always to attempt to show the essence of the landscape and he successfully achieved this through some truly excellent black and whites showing the ruins of quarrying cottages and fascinating stone rows. Wisens Wood with twisted trees is now for me a must to go to despite the midges! Dartmoor mists are quite famous and can come down very quickly but with weather misbehaving as it did Brian was able to reveal some stunning skies. He never sees a trip as a failure - and always gets something out of it. After concentrating on black and white (he showed some abstracty ice formations) it was ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) which took him back into colour - see his You Tube channel and the item called "Passing it on".
He shared information on lenses, equipment and his techniques - although he did stress that equipment is not the answer to getting a good image - the camera doesn’t make you more creative. This in itself is an inspirational thought. His compositions strive for visual balance to create a synergy between his own view and that of the landscape itself. His style is one of no style - another inspiring comment from him, as I have often struggled to understand my style. He believes that nothing can be over photographed (a term which is over used in itself) because each photographer brings not only their own perspective to the story but the conditions we each work in are unique. He encourages working for your OWN inspiration.
His final set of images showed Foggintor Quarry in many different lights of the morning sunrises. Venford Brook gave Brian the opportunity to work with his beloved waterfalls and near Shavercombe Falls he captured some very evocative light into fog.
Brian runs 1-1 and group workshops, and also leads Photography walks. He demonstrated his planning structure and how he approaches his shoots which included advising us to think about our own comfort!
This coming week we have the first competition results and from what Mike says there are some very strong images. I shall be letting people in again this week and look forward to seeing you all.